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Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

We do a lot of the suggestions here. We have an observation hive, give samples, my wife made up little gift mugs with small honey bears honey candy and tea inside, she also had us shirts made up with our names, we ordered free pamphlets to hand out from the National honey board, and we are the beeks so I can answer most questions. The kids have really got into it and we enjoy it as a family and we are making some money.

The observation hive and the honey samples are big hooks! I have saw people go from not wanting any honey to buying a big bottle after they taste it.

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

Originally Posted by Beeslave

The same thing kept happening to me on a EauClaire CL.

Beeslave, I was mad enough to right a letter (email) to craiglist and I complained profusely about someone having nothing better to do than to basically harass someone selling a few jars of honey or a couple colonies of bees. I stated that I knew that the intention was to prevent Kmart and bigger retail stores ect from taking over craigslist with add after add and we small little beekeepers are far from big commercial outfits. I dont know if I had any influence on them or not but it now says; "farm & garden - by owner (legal sales of agricultural livestock OK)" so I think or at least hope we can post honey and bees now without some jerk knocking us off.

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

Not much I can add to what has been said already. Interesting - the enthusiasm is in all of the comments!
- We have usually 4 types of honey for sale. All can be sampled.
- We don't use any chemicals and this seems to be a point stressing.
- We don't heat our honey
- Our honey is sold in glass jars and we take empties back and pay a Dollar for it
- Yes, stand and engage!
- We use the labels from ML - " How do you know it is real honey if you don't know the beekeeper"
- have something on display - information, a hive ( empty) and a display hive is brilliant if it works.
-A label with a pleaseant look
At some of the markets we have plenty of competition but we always sell enough to make it worthwhile.
When we have Pecan Nuts available ( we are harvesting now) we offer 1/2 nuts to dip in honey and often sell honey AND nuts!
At farmers markets we also sell vegetable seedlings, seed potatoes and garlic ( in season)
It is possible to make $ 1000 on a really good morning.

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

My farm is a mid sized vegetable "truck" farm. We raise Certified Naturally Grown vegetables to sell at area farmers markets. This year was the first year that I had any extra honey after what I ate, so I packed it into 6 oz. honey bears and sold it as un-filtered un-heated 100% pure honey for $5 each. Don't sell a lot of volume, but since I am already at the market I sell all that I have.

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

Originally Posted by Isaac Colvin

My farm is a mid sized vegetable "truck" farm. We raise Certified Naturally Grown vegetables to sell at area farmers markets. This year was the first year that I had any extra honey after what I ate, so I packed it into 6 oz. honey bears and sold it as un-filtered un-heated 100% pure honey for $5 each. Don't sell a lot of volume, but since I am already at the market I sell all that I have.

In our case it is the other way round - we sell honey, candles and Seedlings .....and vegetables if we have any surplus!!
It works and makes a dollar.

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

Daniel Y - I live over the hill from you. I produce aprox: 1,000 lbs for sale every year. My apiaries are on a farm that produce organic apples, oranges,
berries, fruits and vegies. The site is at 1,500ft. Angels Camp, Ca. I am looking for an individual who would like to buy my crop at wholesale market
price. In San Francisco I get $7 per pound....The buyers sell it at the markets for $18 per pint and $40 per quart!!!!! That's $160 per Gallon!!!!! Thanks Graham!!!
Ya gotta love the good O'le USof A - If interested...Give a holler at applehollowapiaries@gmail.com.

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

A few more points to add to the farmer's market selling question(s): Have a variety of quantities so that prices run from high to low. Someone who has only a couple of dollars might buy a small quantity and set off a buying frenzy if a crowd of looky-loos is just hanging around checking out the observer hive.

Also have honey-in-the-comb, or at the very least chunk honey in a cool looking jar at a higher price-per-mass unit. My most expensive per-unit item is certified organic honey-in-the-comb, and it goes the fastest.

Another lesson from experience - arrange your display so that people are crowded together. There is far more buying pressure in a crowd than when there is elbow space! I arrange my sale tables (or straw bales) in a semi-circle if possible, and have freebies to give to children of large families so they will stop and look, crowding and adding buying pressure to a few customers with elbow space. Trust me, this REALLY works.

You do have to be able to complete your transactions VERY quickly in a buying melee, so the educating is politely put on hold and the chit-chat is interrupted for Cha-Ching and making change (have plenty of change - maybe $200 even $300 or more if you are in a very busy area). Train your self and your sales staff to key in on this, and not to miss a sale, but keep the friendly faces on while scoring your "kills" ("kills" is a sales term for "sales").

Honey stands have stopping power to run with anything else at a farmers' market, especially if you daughter or wife (or employee) is a wholesome cutie (pay her off in her favorite good-girl rewards, whatever it takes). Lots of items and information add staying power, all of which can help sales. You could go so far as to read sales manuals, but the honey sells itself.

As far as samples - yes, have samples - and offer them on buttered biscuits cut into 1/4's. (I know, that isn't fair!)

Re: I need tips for selling honey at farmers market

I always give them a "taste" of what they are buying. A squeeze bottle that can drip onto (not touch) their fingers works great. If they taste it, 99% of the time they'll buy. Make sure you have some "wet wipes" for them to clean their finger (most of the time, it is licked clean!) Make sure you try & get the kids to try it also!